New Breed of Global Citizen Emerges

As the world becomes a smaller place thanks to the globalisation of business and greater social connectivity, Lloyds TSB International has suggested a new breed of global citizen is emerging.

Research from the bank looked at over a thousand affluent UK citizens and found that as many as one in five spent at least one month outside Britain in the previous 12 months. Equating to around half a million people nationally, this seems to suggest a significant number of Brits are spending more time abroad.

The results showed about 340,000 respondents spent more than a month abroad in one trip, with two per cent, or 57,000 of these found to be spending a month or more in a different country for business reasons.

Nicholas Boys Smith, Director of Lloyds TSB International Wealth, said it was clear that while many people were spending more time abroad for business and pleasure than they would have 10 years ago, it was also important to note the different type of customer that was being created.

“Importantly, this isn’t just the super-rich,” he said. “We’re talking about thousands of people who couldn’t be classified as ultra-high net worth, but are forming a new global village of internationally mobile citizens.

“Ten years ago people spoke about the ‘haves’, the ‘have-nots’ and the ‘have-yachts’. Now I think we’re increasingly seeing that you don’t have to be a billionaire to be detaching from your country of origin.”

“Many people are now far more comfortable travelling the world, working in other countries and experiencing different cultures,” Boys Smith concluded. “They say an Englishman’s home is his castle, but many people now move around as if on a boat, mooring their home in different places as they sail life’s journey.”